Page 114 of The Girl in the Forest

I was almost giddy as I glanced around, noting the cheery fire. Steam rising in the air. Even Kazamir’s brooding didn’t worry me as much as the questions I wanted to ask.

“You called those things in the tunnel hybrids.” I refused to call them wolves, not after they dissolved into shadows. “Have you seen them before?”

“I was guessing,” Cybelle said. “We’ve heard rumors about them.”

“Pretty much know they’re real.” Brin tossed a twig on the fire.

“Tell them, Cybelle, or I will,” Julien said, staring at her. “No more secrets. They should know what they’re up against.”

“Those could have been Amal’s hybrids,” she said. “But they were probably Barend’s. He’s been experimenting with his own hybrids. His group has grown fanatical—we’ve no idea how many wolves they’ve killed trying to build a hybrid army. Failles survive more than the others, but they’re also harder to find—and they’re female. Some of the males kill them outright, but others have been put down once they become mindless monsters.”

“Does that happen often?” Brin asked, her voice shaky.

“Too often,” Julien said.

“Is it only failles, or all hybrids?” I asked. “Going mindless?”

“Half of all hybrids become feral—like the wolves,” Julien said. “Which is why Set opposes Barend.”

I rubbed my arms to chase the chill. Stared at the fire winking between the small branches.

“A mindless army is ineffective,” Cybelle said. She’d moved a step back from the fire. Perhaps, being a vampire, she didn’t need the warmth. “It turns back on itself.”

“But you have to fight Amal,” I said. “Because she hates you as much as she hates the wolves.”

“My sire believes in alliances to defeat Amal.” Julien stretched his legs, tested the lingering weakness. “The way the ancients defeated the original creatures. We’ve been fighting against the creation of more monsters.”

“Does Grayson know this?” I asked.

“He suspects.” Cybelle shot a hard glance toward Julien. “Set preferred to keep it private and not escalate by involving wolves.”

“Amal is on the move.” Julien’s fangs descended before he retracted them. “Barend is beyond reckless. Keeping our greatest ally in the dark was idealistic but foolish.”

Cybelle’s fangs flashed in answer before she hissed, “There was a plan in place.”

“Yes, before Noa returned and the dread lord sigil locked in place.”

“Not all of us believe in signs, Julien.”

“And Set once watched priests slaughter chickens to read the entrails,” he snarled, making me wonder what prophesy Fate had given to the vampires. “The Wolf should know Barend gets his wolves from an elder in Sentinel Falls, a man who has networks set up across the country.”

I jerked, staring at Laura. Her eyes were wide. Levi’s face was hard-edged and his hands fisted. Were we thinking the same thing?

Julien looked at me. All business now, no emotion. “The elder finds them from out of the area, kidnaps them, sells them. Barend turns those old enough to have wolves into hybrids like the ones who killed Njal.”

“Or he tries,” Cybelle said with disgust. “Amal is more successful. We think she has two failles on her side, and dozens of creatures, other hybrids. We’ve been trying to monitor through our Cariboo trading agreements, but that fell apart when she kidnapped a sire and sent his ring back to us in a box. The ring was a declaration of war.”

“Against the vampires?” I asked.

“Against everyone.” Cybelle looked at me. “A dread lord and a faille—the one combination that could defeat her. It should surprise no one that she wants to destroy you.”

“And why Barend wants you badly enough to dagger me to the wall,” Julien added. “He knew it would outrage Set, send a warning. Stop her from interfering with his plan to ambush you. The next step was to lure him here.” Meaning Grayson. “Barend would have you both. But Set sent Martel to warn the Wolf, use the financial information as leverage, weaken the sires who side with Barend. Then…”

“What?” I demanded.

“Creatures attacked again. The last message we received was about the fighting.”

Grayson was fighting Amal? While I was locked away by vampires?

---